23 March 2012

Gazette: Quebecers not eating unlabelled halal meat: minister

QUEBEC — Parti Québécois agriculture critic André Simard raised questions again Friday about the “ritual” killing of animals to produce halal and kosher meat, prompting Agriculture Minister Pierre Corbeil to remind Simard, a veterinarian, that he once worked as a provincial slaughterhouse inspector and should know better.
Defending himself, Simard said he was not trying to whip up anti-Muslim or extremist sentiment with his accusations that Quebecers may unwittingly be eating halal meat and may be paying more for that meat because Muslim prayers were said before the animal was killed.
“Religious ritual slaughter, whether it is kosher or halal, is an exception to the law, not the general rule,” he said.